Statue Of Jesus Highlights The Plight Of The Homeless In Liverpool

One of Liverpool’s most well-known churches is planning to install a striking sculpture which depicts Jesus as a homeless person.

Casts of ‘Homeless Jesus’ have been displayed in cities across the world including in Manchester outside St Ann’s Church. Liverpool Parish Church (also known as St Nick’s, opposite the Pier Head) says placing a version of the distinctive artwork in its gardens will highlight the “worldwide issue” of homelessness, reports YM Liverpool.

According to a planning application submitted to Liverpool City Council, “ongoing dialogue” is underway with the original sculptor Timothy Schmalz who has found a donor willing to fund a cast of his piece for St Nick’s.

‘Homeless Jesus’ is a visual representation of Matthew 25 – the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. The Christ figure is shrouded in a blanket with the only indication that it is Jesus being the visible crucifixion wounds on the feet. Versions of the sculpture have appeared in various locations around the world including Vatican City, Dublin, Washington D.C, New York, Toronto, Madrid and Israel.

If approved by the council, the artwork would join a memorial to the MV Derbyshire tragedy that was unveiled in St Nick’s gardens in September. The eight-foot sculpture was created by local art organisation dot-art and Castle Fine Arts Foundry, and takes the form of a prow of a ship with a figure on top holding a wreath. The MV Derbyshire, which was owned by the Liverpool-based shipping firm Bibby Line and originally known as ‘Liverpool Bridge’, sank during a typhoon south of Japan in 1980 with the loss of 44 lives.